Senior Letter

Shiriyah for the senior class of 2021 was exciting, fun and surprising to say the least. As we all know, Mrs. Septimus as well as the entire administration did an incredible job making this Shiriyah amazing, and ensuring we would not have another “zoomiyah.” The seniors went into school on Monday dressed in red from head to toe, ready to dominate. Seniors could be seen hard at work on the hallway, banner and songs. Karaoke was performed by Jake Myers and Judah Regev, an outstanding performance of High School Musical. The day went on with some wins and some losses, and much hard work. The next day, the second half of the senior class came in to put in their load of work. The day went on the same as before, with karaoke, hallway, banner and art. The seniors then got the day off on Wednesday to rest before the final day of Shiriyah, Thursday. Thursday was a day long anticipated by every 12th grader alike: a day in which the entire senior class could finally be together. It was amazing; things finally felt almost normal. The first activity of the day was the apache. The last activity was recording the senior song, written by Kayla Hutt and Ally Izsak, which didn’t exactly go as organized as planned. Meanwhile, the entire day was spent recognizing faces that had not been seen for the entire school year! It was truly a gift.

The seniors were then gifted again: a Senior-only dinner after school with faculty advisors. We were served a fancy dinner in the cafeteria with tablecloths and golden utensils. Prior to our fancy meal, we were given a surprise speech by Adam Edalati, otherwise known as “Eddie.” It seemed the speech was as much a surprise to him as it was to us. After eating and mingling, Aaron Baruch presented a masterpiece starring Jeremy Sofiev, Jake Myers and Aytan Silverman, an incredible remake of the famous “Wolf of Wall Street.” Myers was a true Leonardo Dicaprio, and Baruch is clearly going places, likely Hollywood. Tali Shavolian then presented her montage of pictures of the graduating class throughout the years, which had everyone reaching for tissues. After the videos, we returned home for the anticipated livestream. We simply could not wait for the announcement of our victory. However, things pretty much went downhill from there.

The Zoom began a bit rocky, but Mrs. Septimus picked it up. Unfortunately, the senior song recording was not played. Unfortunately again, the announced winners of Shiriyah 2021 were the sophomores. There was an uproar: screams and cries, group chats exploding...It wasn’t pretty. The Seniors were angry, and some still are. It felt as though our right of passage was stolen. We lost everything this year that Seniors usually have, and now this. Everyone was angry, but along came “Eddie” with another speech sent out to every senior. He told us to cheer up and be happy.

Why we lost Shiriyah I have no idea, but what I do know is this: There are only a few months of high school left. There are only a few more months left to be with these people who were mostly strangers but three years ago, and are now some of my closest friends. Does it suck that we lost Shiriyah although we were “supposed to win?” Yeah, it does. I take comfort in the fact that at least we had a normal Shiriyah, and at least our peers cared enough to make that happen for us. At least we got to be together as one on Thursday, and show the younger grades what high school is really about: it’s not about winning or losing. It’s about Aaron Baruch’s video and Talia Shavolian’s montage, or the hallway that managed to get done on time: coming together as a grade, and creating something beautiful.